Chapter 130 Cavalry Invasion
Lamiqiao's tens of thousands of mounted warriors charged into the Three Daughters, their hooves thundering and breaking the dawn.
Daemon, riding on Caraxes, soared through the sky, looking down at the Dothraki cavalry on the ground, who resembled marching ants; the Dothraki cavalry were very cunning, immediately dispersing their horses whenever they saw the Dragon dive, and some bolder Dothraki cavalry even shot arrows at the Dragon.
The longbows used by Dothraki cavalry had a longer range, and some were even equipped with dragonbone longbows with unparalleled range; most of the time, Caraxes only needed to flap his wings, and most of the arrows would fall to the ground, but some arrows still landed on the Dragon's wings, the splashing blood igniting in the air like wildfire, though the arrows caused no substantial damage to the Dragon.
The Dothraki continuously shot arrows at the Dragon in the sky, and one arrow even struck Daemon's breastplate, causing the three-headed dragon emblem carved from garnet on the breastplate to shatter, the garnet bouncing off Daemon's chest.
"Now you are finished!" This arrow completely awakened Daemon's dragon fury; Daemon, controlling Caraxes, ascended and then sprayed flames towards the earth, which instantly ignited; when the Dothraki cavalry came to their senses, they were surprised to find that the flames sprayed by Dragon Caraxes had ignited the weeds and trees, forming a terrifying wall of fire, and some warhorses reared up in fright.
Caraxes sprayed orange-yellow flames, and several Dothraki cavalry whose mounts were still in shock, along with their mounts, were instantly engulfed by the flames; both men and horses simultaneously let out horrific screams, and the screams, cries, and curses echoed across the wasteland, everywhere filled with the smell of scorched flesh.
The Dothraki cavalry in the distance, who had been preparing for a new round of mounted archery, were instantly terrified by the gruesome sight of their companions and fled on their warhorses, like mice escaping a cat; Daemon also grew tired of this cat-and-mouse game, and he controlled the Dragon back to Myr, where he happened to encounter three Dothraki scouts looking out from a high hill.
One scout shouted a warning, another reached for his quiver, and the third had already nocked an arrow, aiming at Daemon; Caraxes swooped down like a blood-red lightning bolt, and before the scout could release his arrow, the Dragon's pillar-like feet had already come down, trampling the Dothraki scout and his horse into the ground; the Dragon's feet stomped on the ground, and the earth trembled, and the warhorse and scout beneath the Dragon's feet emitted a sickening crunching sound, brains and blood splattering everywhere.
The other two scouts tried to escape, but their warhorses were too close to the Dragon, and their legs stumbled as they trembled; Caraxes immediately moved forward and bit the scout's head; the scout struggled to escape the Dragon's mouth, but his leather armor was caught by the Dragon's sharp teeth; before the Dragon had fully closed its jaws, a Dragon's breath comparable to a volcanic eruption emerged from deep within the Dragon's throat, and the scout's eyeballs immediately burst and melted like jelly, his leather armor and clothes caught fire, and his skin and flesh melted like candles.
The third scout tried to escape; Daemon, riding on Caraxes, nocked an arrow and shot it through the enemy's back; the arrowhead pierced through the back and burst out of the enemy's chest, piercing through the leather armor; the scout tumbled from his warhorse, crawled a few meters forward, his blood staining the ground, and lay there, immersed in the gradually congealing blood.
Daemon's Dragon Caraxes slowly descended from the sky, and the Kingsguard and Dragon's Servants Army soldiers on the walls of Myr cheered.
Myr is considered one of the most advanced Free Cities, a place where a large number of skilled artisan masters gather; Myr's glass panes, carpets, paintings, tapestries, and other luxury goods are widely beloved by royalty and nobles around the world, while exquisite mirrors, underwear, high heels, and lace are popular among noblewomen; it also produces excellent crossbows capable of firing three shots consecutively, as well as the ointment Myr Fire.
In Daemon's Three Daughters, Myr is the only city located on the continent, guarding the border south of the Myr Sea and east of the Disputed Lands; Daemon places great importance on its city defenses; Myr's city walls are inherently sturdy and tall, and Daemon ordered Myr's artisans to build more than a dozen trebuchets to strengthen the city's defensive capabilities; the city walls are also filled with rolling stones and wood, and there are even oil drums between the battlements, with firewood placed nearby; once the enemy attacks the city, the defenders will boil the oil in the drums and use the scalding hot oil to meet the enemy when they assault the city.
The northern end of the Border Wall connects to Myr; once the Border Wall takes shape in the future, Myr will become the northernmost military fortress of the Border Wall; the Border Wall can seamlessly connect to the Myr Sea through Myr, ensuring smooth sea transportation; in the future, Myr will be comparable to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea on the Wall.
Myr dispatched a large number of laborers and coolies to build the section of the Border Wall closest to Myr; this section of the Wall has already been built for more than ten li, but due to the Dothraki cavalry approaching Myr, the construction of the Border Wall has been temporarily halted, and all laborers and coolies near Myr have been withdrawn to Myr. All laborers and coolies from the Disputed Lands have been withdrawn to nearby manors or ringforts.
Lord Corlys Velaryon, Acting City Lord Constantine of Myr, Qidan Massey, Tomb Wolf, Wind's Grace Raven Greyjoy, and others stood together on the city wall to welcome Daemon.
Tomb Wolf toyed with a crossbow, unable to put it down, "This crossbow can actually fire three bolts consecutively, it's truly terrifying."
Daemon quipped, "A crossbow is a good thing; you can kick open the bathroom door and ambush an enemy while he's using the toilet, hitting your mark every time."
Tomb Wolf was puzzled, he frowned, looking confused, "Why ambush in the bathroom?"
Ser Ronald Florent flapped his prominent ears and said gruffly, "Your Grace, please let me lead the knights of Westeros to sally forth! We have no need to fear those Dothraki savages. North of the Myr Sea is ancient Andalos, and I have never felt the power of the Seven Gods so strongly; the Warrior is urging me to charge!"
Daemon felt that while Ser Ronald Florent was brave, he was blinded by fervent faith in the Seven Gods; Daemon said, "Khal Lamiqiao has forty thousand mounted warriors; he just defeated another Khal on the Great Grass Sea and absorbed the enemy's followers, so his cavalry might be even more numerous. The most important thing in war is to play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses, and not let the enemy exploit their advantages; therefore, we should hold Myr and wait for an opportunity to strike."
Ronald Florent blinked, "But, how long must we wait? Must we wait until the enemy is at our gates, setting up ladders and trebuchets to attack the city?"
Lord Corlys Velaryon said, "The Dothraki are skilled in mounted open-field combat, but they are not good at siege warfare, because warhorses are useless during a siege. Myr's city walls are strong; if Khal Lamiqiao chooses to have his forty thousand mounted warriors dismount and carry battering rams and climb ladders to attack the city, they will pay a heavy price, and we can achieve victory through defensive counterattacks."
Qumao, standing nearby, showed a rough smile; he spoke in the Common Tongue with a heavy Dothraki accent, "Lord Sea Snake, people say you are a well-traveled navigator, but I think you don't understand the Dothraki at all. The Dothraki Sea is, after all, just the Great Grass Sea, not a true sea."
The Sea Snake was somewhat annoyed, glaring at Qumao, "I don't understand the Dothraki? I have not only been to the Dothraki Great Grass Sea, but I also frequently see Dothraki slaves in the ports."
Qumao was an olive-skinned Dothraki with almond eyes; he was a Khal of a small Dothraki tribe that had pledged allegiance to Daemon, though Qumao's tribe only had fewer than eighty people, many of whom were old, weak, or sick. Each time the Dothraki were defeated, they would cut their braids as a sign of shame; Qumao's own braid was very short because he often lost battles on the Great Grass Sea, and his most crushing defeat was at the hands of Khal Lamiqiao's tribe.
Daemon said, "Lord Sea Snake, you have seen more lands than any of us, but no one understands the Great Grass Sea and their own people better than the Dothraki; let us hear what Qumao has to say."
"Qumao, are the Dothraki truly skilled at siege warfare?"
Qumao cleared his throat, "Your Grace, the Dothraki are best at long-distance raids and mounted combat; compared to their cavalry skills, the Dothraki's siege capabilities are indeed weaker, but only relatively speaking. Historically, the Dothraki once destroyed the civilization of the Sarnori Kings."
Wind's Grace Raven Greyjoy said disdainfully, "Sarnori? Never heard of them."
Mushroom explained, "The former masters of the western Great Grass Sea were the Sarnori; they called themselves the 'Tall Men,' with long limbs, brown skin, and hair and eyes as black as night; they established a series of brilliant civilizations in the western Great Grass Sea, their cities like pearls scattered across the green velvet-like plains."
"'City of Towers' Shanas, where the Palace of a Thousand Rooms had silver doors and gold-paved floors; 'City of Scholars' Selys, renowned for its magnificent libraries and painted walls; 'City of Soldiers' Modash was famous for its fierce warriors; 'City of Caravans' Qashas was a necessary stop for east-west caravans. In addition, there was a series of prosperous city-states along the lower Sarn River."
"However, these prosperous Sarnori city-states eventually fell one after another under the Dothraki invasion wave; their inhabitants were either massacred or enslaved, and the cities ultimately became ruins; the land where the Sarnori Kingdom once rose became a sparsely populated no-man's-land, once referred to by travelers as ghost lands or the Great Waste."
Qumao looked at Mushroom with admiration, "The man with the chain knows a lot! I heard this history from the old women of Doskhalin; the Dothraki invasion wave overthrew many city-states. While Khal Lamiqiao's vanguard cavalry may not threaten the city, the subsequent supply train will bring trebuchets, ballistae, and other siege engines; their slave team also includes many skilled craftsmen, so cutting down trees on the spot and building trebuchets is not difficult."
"Furthermore, the Qohorik have also joined the grand alliance against the Dragon; the Qohorik have no shortage of timber, and Khal Lamiqiao's marching route happens to pass through Qohor, so it is very likely that Khal Lamiqiao's supply train contains large logs from Qohor, which are excellent materials for making trebuchets and ballistae."
Princess Rhaenys flew over the city wall on the Red Queen. If the enemy truly built trebuchets beneath Myr, Daemon would dispatch Dragon and Dragonrider to destroy the enemy's siege engines.
Half a month later, Khal Lamiqiao, protected by his bloodriders, arrived beneath the city; Gael and Rhaenys controlled their Dragons in the air as a lookout, and Daemon stood on the city wall.
A Dothraki cavalryman, carrying a white flag, came to the city wall, "Khal Lamiqiao demands to negotiate with the Father of Dragons, Daemon the Liberator."
Lord Corlys Velaryon, beside Daemon, said, "Your Grace, absolutely do not go; this is likely a trap, and the enemy could assassinate you with a sudden arrow at any moment."
Daemon said calmly, "Today is not my death day; I will go on the Dragon, and if they dare to assassinate me, they will have to weigh which is faster, a crossbow bolt or dragonfire."
That noon, Daemon and Khal Lamiqiao met on a hill; Khal Lamiqiao rode a sorrel horse, and Daemon rode on Caraxes.
Khal Lamiqiao was seven feet tall, with a head of raven black hair; even when riding his warhorse, his braid almost dragged on the ground, because Khal Lamiqiao had never been defeated, and the bronze bells on his braid jingled.
Even though Khal Lamiqiao and his mount were very tall and sturdy, in front of the Dragon, he and his warhorse were too small; the Dothraki below the hill watched the Dragon in shock, fear showing in everyone's eyes.
Daemon looked down at Khal Lamiqiao, who could only look up at Daemon; Daemon said, "Khal Lamiqiao, why do you attack my city?"
Khal Lamiqiao sneered, "Your city? This is a city of the Triarchy; the Dragon has seized it for himself, and then ordered people to begin reclaiming wasteland and building a Wall that stretches as far as the eye can see, destroying the earth with plows, shovels, and hoes; this is desecrating the Mother Earth!"
In the Dothraki faith, the Dothraki regard the earth as a Mother deity; actions such as plowing the land with plows, hoes, and shovels, and building manors, are seen as cutting flesh from the Mother Earth; therefore, the Dothraki tirelessly destroy villages, towns, and manors, allowing wild grass to reclaim the land and restoring the earth to its wild state.
Daemon frowned, "Volantis, Pentos, Qohor, Norvos, they are all cultivating land and building houses and castles; why don't you attack them?"
Khal Lamiqiao snorted, "Those people haven't undertaken massive constructions like you have; you also shelter many Dothraki cowards whose braids are shorter than eunuchs', using them as your cavalry; many of them are my enemies. The old women of Doskhalin listened to the exiled nobles of the Triarchy and decided that you are evil."
Those shriveled old women of Doskhalin must have taken money from the exiled nobles of the Triarchy! The wife of a Dothraki tribal leader, a Khal, is a Khaleesi; after the Khal dies, the Khaleesi will go to the sacred city of Vaes Dothrak to join the Doskhalin, which is composed of Khal widows.
Daemon said, "Khal Lamiqiao, your army cannot conquer a city guarded by a Dragon; why not accept my gifts? And then go sweep through slave cities like Pentos and Volantis?"
Khal Lamiqiao stubbornly shook his head, "Unless you immediately hand over all the Dothraki in the Three Daughters and cease reclaiming wasteland and building the Wall, only then will I withdraw my army. Otherwise, my cavalry will flatten your kingdom."
Daemon's anger flared, "I think you are simply insane with a death wish. Your negotiation has no sincerity; why even propose one?"
Khal Lamiqiao said, "Because I wanted to personally witness the legendary Liberator, the Father of Dragons, and get close to the Dragon. On the Great Grass Sea, I have no rivals left; I have conquered dozens of tribes, Qohor and Norvos tremble before me, the Lhazareen weep before me, and the Archon of Pentos offers gifts just to delay my wrath."
"I have ridden thousands of fine horses, but I have never ridden a Dragon. I want a Dragon, and a Dragon Princess!"
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